The Importance of Relationships in Children’s Ministry

At KidSpring, we value relationships! Relationships are the primary reason kids and volunteers keep coming back week after week. Here are some of the things we are working on to make sure relationships are an irresistible part of KidSpring.

We value creating a FUN, RELATIONAL ENVIRONMENT!

Every 8 weeks we introduce a new series in KidSpring full of Biblical truth wrapped up in a FUN theme! The rooms are full of activities that support the theme and get the kids and the volunteers excited about hanging out and playing together!

During large group, we worship together and hear a creative Bible story that encourages kid and volunteer participation.

We purposefully provide conversation starters as part of our small group time. Everyone has an opportunity to share their name and something fun that ties into what we need to know or our series theme.

Small group lessons are conversational and always include questions for discussion.

We value developing a Same Kids, Same Service, Same Leader Small Group System!

When the same kids are in the same group each week, those relationships within the group can grow stronger and stronger.

When kids are in the same group each week with the same leader the relationship with that leader grows. We believe small group leaders offer a key partnership with parents as they are another voice of Biblical truth in every child’s life.

Kids love their small group friends and their small group leader and miss their friendships whenever they are out!

Leaders build relationships with their kids outside of Sunday by sending them notes. There are note writing stations for every small group leader to write pre-postage paid postcards or notes to each kid in their small group. These notes are in the mail on Monday.

We value developing a System for Non-Regular Attending kids!

We desire for kids to know how valuable they are to Jesus and we want to identify those who are not regularly attending so we can pursue them.

When kids miss a Sunday, we want to pursue them with phone calls, postcards, and special events that entice them to come back.

We want to make sure first time kids are identified (we use green name tags) and that they have a buddy (another friend their age) who can help them know what to expect in the service hour they attend.

We value a Volunteer Leadership Structure that tiers volunteers down to a 1:12 ratio!

Volunteer leaders shepherd other volunteers by pouring into the people on their teams, getting to know them and praying for them on a regular basis.

We create fun things for volunteers to do together outside of Sunday.

Volunteers meet together before serving to grow as they hear Vision, Information, and then PRAY! Relationships grow as VIP meetings are a priority!

Over time, we have seen that kids in consistent groups and volunteers who are shepherded well want to come back week after week because the relationships they are forming are an important part of their lives!

( This post was written by Cherie Duffey, our children’s ministry director here at NewSpring Church. You can follow her on twitter right here! )